14 Cards
by sophieyw
Summary: This is a fanfic based on the WIllow falls series by Wendy Mass (11 birthdays, (12) Finally, 13 Gifts, and the soon to be The Last Present). It takes place a year after The Last Present, as the characters are entering grade nine and are/are turning 14. It is narrated by Kira, the girl Rory's age at the end of Finally.


I really hate shopping. I hate having to go through clothes, I hate having to feel guilty for spending money, and I hate having to hide the fact that I'm upset that we can't buy all the things I want. I mean, I'm not bratty or stuck-up or whiny or anything, I don't hate not getting everything I want (if you do, I have some news for you- suck it up), it's just sad and uncomfortable, smiling to my mom and replying with, "yes, that's all I want." Because that's all I need, and that's all we can have. And I get that. I really do.

Back to school shopping is the only OK kind though. It's right before my birthday and right before school (obviously) so my mom is a little more lenient. Not that she's always telling me "no"- usually, because I just don't ask- but it's silently agreed upon that I can ask for a bit more when we back to school shop. You know, those silent ideas or agreements or whatever, that you can feel in the air. You can feel it, and everyone knows it. It lifts up everyone's mood, all of us. And there are quite a lot of us.

I've got two younger brothers, Micheal and Sam, who are 11 and 7. Then there's Jessica, who's 17, and Nathan, who's 19. My grandma also lives with us, because it's just my mom. So we all go back to school shopping together, and it's a pretty fun occasion. This will be our third year shopping here, at the mall in Willow falls. We moved here about two years and a few months ago.

I really like living in Willow Falls, the people are so nice. That's one of the reasons I'm excited to go back to school. In our old town, school was not my favourite part of my day (or year, life, etc) but now I'm excited to go back and see all my friends. Plus, school is the place where I kissed Jake Harrison, my favourite movie star.

That's what I'm thinking about now- friends, school and Jake, as I roll around in my bed. I just can't sleep! School starts in, like, three days, and I'm starting high school! We're going shopping tomorrow, then I'm meeting up with my friends to hang out in the afternoon (because that's what almost-14-year-olds do… hangout, not "play"). To top it all off, my aunt Angelina is coming over for dinner. She's a strange one, but I love her. Tomorrow is going to be awesome… how can one even think about sleep. I probably should get rested, I mean, the levels of, what it's called, oh we learned it… in….. what's that called.. ohh…..umm….

_It's awfully bright in here _I think as I go to open my curtain. I take a quick peek out the window and notice an empty driveway._ Odd._ Slowly turning to my clock, I contemplate if I really want to know what time it is. It's one of those, I'll be upset if I do, I'll be upset if I don't situations.

11:27 mocks the green flashing light of the clock.

It's 11:27 AM, and as confirmed by an unnecessary check throughout the house, I'm the only one home!

_Maybe there was a kidnapper/murderer who came and stole everyone, but didn't get me because I sleep in the attic._ But no, the car is gone and I share the attic with Jess, who's probably not kidnapped but definitely not here.

The smart thing to do would be to call my mom. But for fear of kidnappers who think ahead and steal phones to see if he's (or she's) left someone behind, I call my friend Tara. She's really good at fixing situations. I consider calling Angelina, but she'd probably give me a very vague philosophical line that would take too much time to figure out.

"Hey Kira, what's up? You know what's funny, I just passed your whole family at the mall, doing their big shopping and stuff and I guess you didn-"

"My whole family's at the mall!? Oh and hi, how are you?

"Ya, what, you didn't know they were all there, what, did you just wake up or something?" she laughs and I think she's going to continue talking, as it sounds like a rhetorical question, but no, she's waiting for a real answer.

"Wellll, uummm.."

"You should probably call you mom! Good luck figuring it out, and remember- the orchard at two, be there or be square."

We say our goodbyes and I quickly type in my mom's cell number

"Hey, mom can you ex-"

"Hello… who is this? Do I know you?


End file.
